Daniel bullock



(No Model.)

D.BULLOCK.

VEHICLE TOP. No. 276,957. Patented May 1,1883.

r a Z a WITNEEEEEI UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL BULLOCK, OF FOR'l ATKINSON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THENORTHWESTERN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

VEHICLE-TOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,957, dated May 1,1883.

Application filed March 9, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom t't may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL BULLOCK, of Fort Atkinson, in the county ofJefferson and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain Improvements inFastenings for Quarter-Curtains, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention consists in a novel means of attaching quarteccurtains tocarriage-rails, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the shifting rail of acarriage or vehicle and the plate to which the quarter-curtain is madefast, the latter being shown detached from the rail; Fig. 2, an insideface view of the quarter-curtain and the securing devices; Fig. 3, ahorizontal section on theline :r 00 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a cross-sectionon the line y y of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the lower endof the curtain with the plate riveted or secured toit.

The object of myinvention is to so secure the lower end of thequarter-curtain that it may be readily tightened or loosened tocompensate for stretching or shrinkage, and to provide a ready means ofattaching curtains of varying width to vehicles of different styles andconstructions.

Hitherto it has been the general custom to permanently secure the 10werends ofthe quar' ter-curtains by tacks or otherwise to the carriagebody or ra-il,though morerecently aclamping plate or strip has beenadded to secure a more uniform straining of the curtain and to preventpuckering between the tacks, rivets, or other fastenings. Under my planthe curtain is permanently riveted to a metal plate, which plate issecured to the shifting rail by a belt or bolts, both the plate and therail being slotted, one vertically and the other horizontally, to permitthe adjustments above alluded to.

shifting rail of a vehicle, made of ordinary form, except that the armwhich extends along the back of the seat is made somewhat wider thanusual through a portion of its length, and provided with a horizontalslot, (4, to receive a bolt, B, by which a metal plate, C, is secured tothe rail. The plate C is made pref erably of malleable iron, and isformed with a slot, 1), at right angles to the slot a of the shiftingrail, and a depression, 0, is formed Referring to the drawings, Arepresents the around said slot to receive the head of the bolt B andprevent the latter from projecting to any considerable extent beyond theface of the plate. Holes dare also formed through the plate to receiverivets e, by which the curtain D is secured to the outer face of theplate, said holes being countersunk 0n the inner face of the plate topermitthe rivets to beheaded down flush with the face of the plate, sothat the latter may lie close against the shiftingrail when drawnthereto by the bolt B. The two outer rivets care formed with studs orbuttons /"-one to hold the lower corner of the side curtain, and theother to hold the lower corner of the back curtain.

The parts being thus constructed, the bolt 13 is passed through plate C,and the curtain D is laid against the outer face thereof and rivetedfast, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5. bolt B is then passed through slotto of the shifting rail and adjusted to proper position therein, and thecurtain is drawn down until properly strained or stretched, (the slot bpermitting such movement of the curtain and plate C independently ofbolt 13,) and the nut E is then applied to the bolt and screwed tightlyup against the inner face of the shifting rail,thereby drawing plateCfirmly against the outer face of the same and securing said plate andthe curtain in a very perfect manner. If at any time the curtainmaterial should shrink, it may be relieved of undue strain by looseningnut E and permitting the curtain and plate C to move upward; or, bydrawing them down, compensation can be made for stretching andconsequent bagging of the material. If the curtain be found to drawunevenly sidewise, the bolt may be adjusted laterally in slot (4, andall difficulty of this kind thereby remedied. The main object of theslot to is, however, to permit the bolt to be readily adjusted in thefirst instance,it beingapparent that the bolt will naturally assume itsproper position in said slot whether the curtain be a little widerornarrower than usual, and whether the plate be set equidistant from theedges or to one side, and, finally, whether the plate be attached to thecurtain in a perfectly horizontal position, or is set slightly inclinedthrough accident or carelessness. It is particularly to The be notedthat by this construction the single bolt controls the fastening andadjustment of the plate, and that no plate or clamp is exposed on theoutside of the curtain, where its presence is detrimental to the generalappearance of the vehicle. Being permanently secured to the plate, andthe plate being made adjustable vertically, the curtain does not requirea new set of holes or the elongation of the original holes through whichthe rivets or i'astenings pass, as is necessary when the curtain isclamped between the rail and an outside plate.

It is apparent that more than one bolt may be used, the plate 0 being insuch case provided with a slot for each; or the vertical slots may bemade in the shifting rail and a horizontal slot or slots formed in theplate. 'Ihcse slightly-differing arrangements or forms are mere obviousequivalents of each other.

The manner of securing the quarter-curtain will be found advantageousover former plans, even if the slots be omitted and simple perforationsmade to receive the bolt, because of the fact that the shifting rail isnot weakened by a number of holes.

It will also be seen that the plate may be attached to the body orseat-back of a carriage instead of to the shifting rail; hence inspeaking of the shifting rail I wish it understood that I do notnecessarily restrict myself thereto, though under ordinary circumstancesit will be used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In combination,the body or shifting rail of a vehicle, a quarter-curtain, and anadjustable plate secured permanently to the curtain and adjustablyattached to the body or rail, substantially as shown and described,whereby the curtain may be loosened, tightened, and adjusted at will.

2. In combination with a shifting rail, a metallic plate, aquarter-curtain permanently secured to said plate, and a bolt passingthrough the plate and shifting rail, and serving to secure the former tothe latter.

3. In combination with shifting rail A, having slot a, curtain D, plate0, secured to said curtain, and bolt 13, passing through the plate andthrough the slot of the shifting rail, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. In combination with shifting rail A and quarter-curtain D, the plate0, riveted to the curtain, and provided with slot I), and the bolt 13,passing through said slot and through the shifting rail, substantiallyas described.

5. In combination with the shifting rail A, having slot a, and withcurtain D, plate 0, so cured to said curtain, and provided with slot I),and the bolt B, passing through the plate and rail, and serving to holdthe latter firmly upon the former.

DANIEL BULLO OK.

WVitnesses:

-W. H. Roenns,

D. G. CRAIG.

